Vehicle air conditioner with rotary door

ABSTRACT

In an air conditioning unit of a vehicle air conditioner, an air-outlet mode switching portion is provided at an upper side of a heat exchanging portion including at least a heating heat exchanger for heating air. The air-outlet mode switching portion includes a rotary door rotatable around a rotation shaft, and the rotary door includes a circumference wall surface for opening and closing plural air outlet openings through which air is blown toward different zones of a passenger compartment. Further, the heating heat exchanger is arranged to be crossed with a horizontal surface, and a rotation space of the rotary door is provided to extend from an upper side of the heating heat exchanger to a side portion of the heating heat exchanger. Accordingly, the size of the air conditioning unit can be made smaller.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application is based on Japanese Patent Applications No.2001-376998 filed on Dec. 11, 2001, No. 2001-393920 filed on Dec. 26,2001, and No. 2002-215232 filed on Jul. 24, 2002, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner with arotary door having a circumference wall surface, rotated around arotation shaft, for opening and closing plural air outlet openings.

[0004] 2. Description of Related Art

[0005] In a vehicle air conditioner, plural air outlet openings throughwhich conditioned air is blown into a passenger compartment are openedand closed by a single rotary door formed into a semi-cylindrical shape.In this case, an air outlet mode such as a face mode, a foot mode and adefroster mode is set by rotation of the rotary door. Accordingly, theoperation angle of the rotary door becomes larger, and the size of anair conditioning unit of the air conditioner is increased. For example,when the rotary door is disposed above a heater core for heating air,the vertical dimension of the air conditioning unit of the vehicle airconditioner becomes larger.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] In view of the above-described problems, it is an object of thepresent invention to reduce a size of an air conditioning unit in avehicle air conditioner in which plural air-outlet opening portions areopened and closed by a single rotary door.

[0007] It is another object of the present invention to provide avehicle air conditioner having an improvement structure of an air-outletmode switching portion, which prevents interference between the rotarydoor and a heating heat exchanger, while a size of an air conditioningunit of the vehicle air conditioner can be reduced.

[0008] According to the present invention, in an air conditioning unitof a vehicle air conditioner, an air conditioning case for defining anair passage has a plurality of opening portions through which air isblown toward different zones in a passenger compartment, a heatexchanging portion having at least a heating heat exchanger for heatingair is disposed in the air conditioning case, and a rotary door isdisposed in the air conditioning case at an upper side of the heatexchanging portion to be rotated in a range of a rotation space providedin the air conditioning case. The rotary door has a circumference wallsurface rotatable around a rotation shaft to open and close the openingportions, and the rotation space is provided in the air conditioningcase to extend from an upper portion of the heating heat exchanger to aside portion of the heating heat exchanger. Accordingly, a dimensionbetween the heating heat exchanger and the rotary door can be setsmaller.

[0009] Preferably, the heating heat exchanger is arranged in the airconditioning case in a direction crossing with a horizontal surface.Accordingly, the rotation space extending from the upper side of theheating heat exchanger to the side portion of the heating heat exchangercan be made larger, and an outer diameter of the rotary door can be madelarger, so that the operation angle of the rotary door for opening andclosing the opening portions can be set smaller. Thus, the dimensionbetween the heating heat exchanger and the rotary door can be furtherreduced. The rotation space of the rotary door can extend to a positionproximate to a lower end portion of the heating heat exchanger.

[0010] The opening portions include a foot opening through which air isblown toward a lower side in the passenger compartment, a face openingthrough which air is blown toward an upper side in the passengercompartment, and a defroster opening through which air is blown towardan inner surface of a windshield of the vehicle. In this case,preferably, the rotary door further includes a plate door memberdisposed at a radial inner side of the circumference wall surface to beintegrally rotated with the circumference wall surface, and the rotarydoor is disposed such that the face opening and the defroster openingare opened and closed by the circumference wall surface, and the footopening is opened and closed by the plate door member. Therefore, acircumference length of the circumference wall surface can be madesmaller, and the size of the air conditioning unit can be furtherreduced.

[0011] Preferably, the air conditioning case has a maximum passagedimension (L) at an upstream side of the rotary door in a directionperpendicular to an axial direction of the rotation shaft, and therotary door has an outer diameter (D) equal to or larger than 0.8 timesof the maximum passage dimension. More preferably, rotary door has anouter diameter (D) larger than the maximum passage dimension. In thiscase, the space dimension between the heating heat exchanger and therotary door can be further effectively reduced.

[0012] Further, the heating heat exchanger is disposed in the airconditioning case to form a cool air bypass passage through which airbypasses the heating heat exchanger, the air conditioning case includesa guide member which guides at least one of air passing through the coolair bypass passage to an upper side of the heating heat exchanger andair passing through the heating heat exchanger to the upper side of theheating heat exchanger, and the rotation shaft is disposed at a lowerside from a top end of the guide member. Accordingly, even when theouter diameter of the rotary door is made larger, the rotary door can bereadily rotated without interference.

[0013] Preferably, the heating heat exchanger is disposed in the airconditioning case in a range of the outer diameter of the rotary door ata lower side position of the rotation shaft, to be offset from arotation locus of the rotary door. Accordingly, interference between therotary door and the heating heat exchanger can be prevented while thesize of the air conditioning unit can be reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Other objects, features and advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent from the following detailed description madewith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0015]FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an air conditioningunit of a vehicle air conditioner in a face mode, according to a firstembodiment of the present invention;

[0016]FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing the air conditioningunit in a foot mode, according to the first embodiment;

[0017]FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view showing the air conditioningunit in a defroster mode, according to the first embodiment;

[0018]FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing an air conditioningunit of a vehicle air conditioner in a face mode, according to a secondembodiment of the present invention;

[0019]FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing the air conditioningunit in a foot mode, according to the second embodiment;

[0020]FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view showing the air conditioningunit in a defroster mode, according to the second embodiment;

[0021]FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing an air conditioningunit of a vehicle air conditioner in a face mode, according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention;

[0022]FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view showing the air conditioningunit in a foot mode, according to the third embodiment;

[0023]FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view showing the air conditioningunit in a defroster mode, according to the third embodiment;

[0024]FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view showing an air conditioningunit of a vehicle air conditioner in a face mode, according to a fourthembodiment of the present invention;

[0025]FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view showing an air conditioningunit of a vehicle air conditioner in a face mode, according to a fifthembodiment of the present invention;

[0026]FIG. 12 is a schematic sectional view showing the air conditioningunit in a foot mode, according to the fifth embodiment;

[0027]FIG. 13 is a schematic sectional view showing the air conditioningunit in a defroster mode, according to the fifth embodiment;

[0028]FIG. 14 is a schematic sectional view showing an air conditioningunit used for a vehicle without a navigation device, according to asixth embodiment of the present invention;

[0029]FIG. 15 is a schematic sectional view showing the air conditioningunit used for a vehicle having a navigation device, according to thesixth embodiment; and

[0030]FIG. 16 is a schematic sectional view showing an air conditioningunit in a comparison example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0031] (First Embodiment)

[0032] The first embodiment of the present invention will be nowdescribed with reference to FIGS. 1-3. In the first embodiment, an airconditioning unit 10 of a vehicle air conditioner is mounted on avehicle to be arranged as shown in FIGS. 1-3 in a vehicle front-reardirection and a vehicle up-down direction (vertical direction). The airconditioning unit 10 is generally disposed at an approximate centerinside an instrument panel at a front side in a passenger compartment.FIG. 1 shows the air conditioning unit 10 in a face mode, FIG. 2 showsthe air conditioning unit 10 in a foot mode, and FIG. 3 shows the airconditioning unit 10 in a defroster mode.

[0033] A blower unit of the vehicle air conditioner is arranged in theinstrument panel of the vehicle to be offset from the air conditioningunit 10 toward a front passenger's seat side in the vehicle widthdirection. The blower unit is disposed to blow air into the airconditioning unit 10. The blower unit includes an inside/outside airswitching box for selectively introducing inside air (i.e., air insidethe passenger compartment) and outside air (i.e., air outside thepassenger compartment), and a blower for blowing air introduced from theinside/outside air switching box into the air conditioning unit 10. Theblower includes a centrifugal fan, for example.

[0034] The air conditioning unit 10 has an air conditioning case 11 madeof a resin. The air conditioning case 11 is formed into a verticallyelongated shape, and defines therein an air passage through which airflows from below toward an upper side. An air inlet space 12 is providedin the air conditioning case 11 at a bottom side so that air blown bythe blower unit flows into the air inlet shape 12.

[0035] A heat exchange portion 13 is disposed in the air conditioningcase 11 at an upper side of the air inlet space 12. The heat exchangeportion 13 includes an evaporator 14 used as a cooling heat exchanger,and a heater core 15 used as a heating heat exchanger. The evaporator 14is disposed at an immediate upper side of the air inlet space 12, andthe heater core 15 is disposed at an upper side of the evaporator 14.

[0036] As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the evaporator 14 is disposedapproximately horizontally at an upper side position separated from abottom surface of the air conditioning case 11 by a predetermined heightdimension. In the first embodiment, the evaporator 14 is slightly tiltedfrom a horizontal surface toward a lower side at the vehicle front sideby a predetermined tilt angle (e.g., 20°). Because the evaporator 14 isdisposed to be slightly tilted from the horizontal surface, a dimensionof the air conditioning case 11 in the vehicle front-rear direction canbe reduced. Further, because the evaporator 14 is titled, condensedwater generated on the evaporator 14 is readily collected at a tiltlower end portion on the vehicle front side of the evaporator 14, sothat condensed water can be smoothly discharged from the tilt lower endportion of the evaporator 14. A discharge port 16 is opened in the airconditioning case 11 on the bottom surface at a most front side portion.

[0037] Low pressure refrigerant decompressed in a decompression unit ina refrigerant cycle flows into the evaporator 14, and is evaporated inthe evaporator 14 by absorbing heat from air passing through theevaporator 14, so that air passing through the evaporator 14 is cooled.The evaporator 14 includes first and second tank portions 14 a, 14 b,and a heat exchange core portion 14 c disposed between the first andsecond tank portions 14 a, 14 b. In the heat exchange core portion 14 aof the evaporator 14, plural flat tubes and plural corrugated fins arelaminated alternately to be arranged in parallel with each other. Airintroduced into the air inlet space 12 passes through the heat exchangecore portion 14 c of the evaporator 14 from below upwardly, as shown bythe arrow “a” in FIGS. 1-3.

[0038] The heater core 15 is disposed in the air conditioning case 11 atan approximate center position in the vehicle front-rear direction, atan upper side of the evaporator 14. The heater core 15 is a heating heatexchanger for heating air using hot water (engine-cooling water) from avehicle engine as a heating source. The heater core 15 includes an inlettank portion 15 a, an outlet tank portion 15 b, and a heat exchange coreportion 15 c disposed between the inlet tank portion 15 a and the outlettank portion 15 b. In the first embodiment, for example, the inlet tankportion 15 a is disposed at a lower side of the heat exchange coreportion 15 c, and the outlet tank portion 15 b is disposed at an upperside of the heat exchange core portion 15 c. In the heat exchange coreportion 15 c of the heater core 15, plural flat tubes and pluralcorrugated fins are laminated alternately to be arranged in parallelwith each other.

[0039] The heater core 15 is a one-way flow type in which hot waterflowing into the inlet tank portion 15 a flows through all the pluraltubes of the heat exchange core portion 15 c in one way toward theoutlet tank portion 15 b.

[0040] The heater core 15 is disposed in the air conditioning case 11approximately vertically, so that a surface of the heat exchange coreportion 15 c of the heater core 15 extends approximately in the verticaldirection. Because the heater core 15 is disposed on the upper side ofthe evaporator 14 at the approximate center position in the vehiclefront-rear direction, a cool air bypass passage 17 through which coolair flows as shown by the arrow “b” while bypassing the heater core 15is provided at a vehicle front side of the heater core 15. An air mixingdoor 18 is disposed to adjust a flow ratio between an air amount passingthrough the heater core 15 and an air amount passing through the coolair bypass passage 17. The air mixing door 18 is rotated around arotation shaft 18 a, and the rotation shaft 18 a is provided at a frontside position proximate to a top end portion of the heater core 15. Therotation shaft 18 a is disposed to extend in the vehicle widthdirection, and both end portions of the rotation shaft 18 a is rotatablyheld in shaft bearings provided in a wall surface of the airconditioning case 11. In the first embodiment, the rotation shaft 18 ais connected to a top end portion of the air mixing door 18 formed intoa plate like. The air mixing door 18 is rotated around the rotationshaft 18 a between the solid line position (maximum cooling position)and the chain line position (maximum heating position) in FIGS. 1-3.

[0041] When the air mixing door 18 is rotated at the solid lineposition, a passage of the core portion 15 c is fully closed so that amaximum cooling is set on the other hand, when the air mixing door 18 isrotated to the chain line position, the cool air bypass passage 17 isfully closed so that a maximum heating is set. When the air mixing door18 opens the passage of the core portion 15 c of the heater core 15 by apredetermined opening degree, air having passed through the evaporator14 passes through the core portion 15 c of the heater core 15 as shownby the arrow “c”, and flows toward the upper side of the heater core 15.Accordingly, the air mixing door 18 adjusts temperature of air blowninto the passenger compartment by adjusting the flow ratio between theair amount passing through the heater core 15 and the air amount passingthrough the cool air bypass passage 17.

[0042] An air mixing portion 19 is provided at an upper side of theheater core 15. Air from the heater core 15 and air from the cool airbypass passage 17 are mixed in the air mixing portion 19 so thatconditioned air having a predetermined temperature can be obtained. Awarm air guide wall 20 is provided to extend from a lower side positionof the heater core 15 on the vehicle rear side toward upwardly withinthe air conditioning case 11. Therefore, warm air from the heater core15 is guided by the warm air guide wall 20 toward the air mixing portion19 as shown by the arrow “c”.

[0043] The cool air bypass passage 17 is provided in the airconditioning case 11 to be bent from the vehicle front side of theheater core 15 toward the vehicle rear side after passing through thefront side space of the heater core 15 upwardly. Therefore, the cool airbypass passage 17 is gradually bent while extending from the vehiclefront side of the heater core 15 to the upper rear side of the heatercore 15. A cool air guide wall 21 is provided to extend from a frontwall surface of the air conditioning case 11 toward a vehicle rear side.Specifically, the cool air guide wall 21 extends upwardly from the frontwall surface of the air conditioning case 11, and protrudesapproximately horizontally toward the vehicle rear side. Accordingly,cool air from the cool air bypass passage 17 is guided by the cool airguide wall 21 toward the air mixing portion 19 as shown by the arrow“b”.

[0044] An air-outlet mode switching portion 22 is disposed in an uppersurface of the air conditioning case 11 on an upper side of the airmixing portion 19 at a downstream position of the air mixing portion 19.The air-outlet mode switching portion 22 has a semi-cylindrical sealsurface 23. A circumference surface of the seal surface 23 extends inthe vehicle front-rear direction. A foot opening 24 is opened in theseal surface 23 at a lower position on a most vehicle rear side, a faceopening 25 is provided in the seal surface 23 at a front upper side fromthe foot opening 24, and a defroster opening 26 is provided at a frontside position from the face opening 25.

[0045] The foot opening 24 communicates with foot air outlets 24 bthrough a foot air passage 24 a defined by a vehicle rear side surfaceof the air conditioning case 11. The foot air outlets 24 b are opened inthe air conditioning case 11 at right and left two sides in the vehiclewidth direction, so that conditioned air is blown toward right and leftside in the foot area of the passenger compartment. The face opening 25is provided so that conditioned air is blown toward the upper side inthe passenger compartment from the face opening 25 through a face duct.The defroster opening 26 is provided so that conditioned air is blowntoward an inner surface of a windshield from the defroster opening 26through a defroster duct.

[0046] A rotary door 27 is disposed inside the seal surface 23 of theair conditioning case 11 to be rotatable by a rotation shaft 28 in thevehicle front-rear direction. The rotary door 27 includes acircumference wall surface 27 a having a predetermined radius ofcurvature around the rotation shaft 28, and two side plate portions 27 bprovided at two end sides of the circumference wall surface 27 a in anaxial direction (e.g., vehicle width direction). The circumference wallsurface 27 a of the rotary door 27 is connected to the rotation shaft 28through the two side plates 27 b. The circumference wall surface 27 a,the two side plate portions 27 b and the rotation shaft 28 can beintegrally formed from a resin.

[0047] The rotation shaft 28 is rotatably held in bearing holes providedin right and left side walls of the air conditioning case 11. Therotation shaft 28 is provided adjacent to the top end portion of theheater core 15 at a rear side position of the heater core 15. Therefore,the rotation shaft 28 is separated from the cool air guide wall 21 to alower side by a distance larger than a predetermined distance. Therotation shaft 28 is set at a height position around the top end of thewarm air guide wall 20. Accordingly, a radial inside portion 27 c ineach of the two side plate portions 27 b, adjacent to the rotation shaft28, is positioned between the top end portions of the two guide walls20, 21.

[0048] In the first embodiment, in order to prevent the radial insideportion 27 c from interfering with the top end portions of the guidewalls 20, 21, the dimension of the radial inside portion 27 c in thevehicle front-rear direction is made small to be approximately equal toan outer diameter of the rotation shaft 28. A radial outside portion ofeach side plate portion 27 b, adjacent to the circumference wall surface27 a, is enlarged in a fan shape. The radial outside portion of the sideplate portion 27 b has a first bent portion 27 d bent along the cool airguide wall 21, at one side in the rotation direction of the rotary door27 as shown in FIG. 1. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the radial outsideportion of the side plate portion 27 b has a second bent portion 27 ebent along the warm air guide wall 20, at the other side in the rotationdirection of the rotary door 27. Accordingly, it can preventinterference between the side plate portions 27 b and the two guidewalls 20, 21 when the rotary door 27 is rotated in the vehiclefront-rear direction.

[0049] A film member 27 g made of a resinous film material is attachedto an outer peripheral side of the circumference wall surface 27 athrough an elastic material 27 f to be integrally rotated with thecircumference wall surface 27 a. An air pressure inside the rotary door27 is applied to the film member 27 g through an opening portion (notshown) provided in the circumference wall surface 27 a and an openingportion (not shown) provided in the elastic material 27 f, communicatingwith the opening portion of the circumference wall surface 27 a.Accordingly, the film member 27 g can press-contact the seal surface 23of the air conditioning case 11 by the air pressure and an elasticpressure force of the elastic material 27 f to accurately close the airopenings 24-26.

[0050] A communication hole 27 h penetrating through the circumferencewall surface 27 a, the elastic material 27 f and the film member 27 g ofthe rotary door 27 is provided at a position of the circumference wallsurface 27 a, the elastic material 27 f and the film member 27 g. Thecommunication hole 27 h is provided in the rotary door 27 to open theopening portions 24-26.

[0051] A semi-cylindrical door rotation space 29, in which the rotarydoor 27 is rotatable, is formed inside the semi-cylindrical seal surface23 of the air conditioning case 11 at the upper side portion. The doorrotation space 29 is formed in the air conditioning case 11 in a rangefrom an upper side position of the cool air guide wall 21 to a sideportion of the heater core 15. The side portion of the heater core 15 isprovided at a vehicle rear side position of the warm air guide wall 20that is positioned on the vehicle rear side of the heater core 15. Thedoor rotation space 29 extends to a position around the lower endportion of the heater core 15 on the vehicle rear side.

[0052] In the first embodiment, the rotation shaft 28 of the rotary door27 is disposed adjacent to the upper end portion of the heater core 15,and an outer diameter D of the rotary door 27 is set larger than amaximum passage dimension L at an upstream side of the rotary door 27.Here, the maximum passage dimension L is a maximum passage dimension ina direction (i.e., horizontal direction) perpendicular to the axialdirection of the rotation shaft 28, at the upstream side of the rotarydoor 27. In the first embodiment, the maximum passage dimension L is thedimension in the vehicle front-rear direction.

[0053] The outer diameter D of the rotary door 27 is the double of theradius of curvature between the rotation center of the rotary door 27and an outer peripheral surface of the film member 27 g when the rotarydoor 27 is attached to inside the seal surface 23 of the airconditioning case 11. For example, the outer diameter D of the rotarydoor 27 is about 200 mm, and the maximum passage dimension L is about155 mm. Therefore, in this case, the outer diameter D is about 1.29times of the maximum passage dimension L (D≈L×1.29).

[0054] In order to increase the outer diameter D of the rotary door 27,the door rotation space 29 is provided to extend to the position aroundthe lower end portion of the heater core 15 on the vehicle rear side. Anoperation angle θ of the rotary door 27 is an angle between theoperation position in the face mode shown in FIG. 1 and the operationposition in the defroster mode shown in FIG. 3. In the first embodiment,because the outer diameter D is made larger, the operation angle θ canbe reduced to about 65°.

[0055] The rotation shaft 28 of the rotary door 27 protrudes to anoutside of the air conditioning case 11, and is connected to a modeoperation mechanism through a link mechanism, so that the rotary door 27is rotated by the mode operation mechanism. Similarly, the rotationshaft 18 a of the air mixing door 18 protrudes to an outside of the airconditioning case 11, and is connected to a temperature adjustmentoperation mechanism through a link mechanism, so that the air mixingdoor 18 is rotated by the temperature adjustment operation mechanism.Each of the mode operation mechanism and the temperature adjustmentoperation mechanism can be constructed by an automatic mechanism using aservomotor, or can be constructed by a manual operation mechanism thatis directly operated manually by a passenger in the passengercompartment.

[0056] Next, operation of the first embodiment of the present inventionwill be now described. When the blower of the blower unit operates,inside air or outside air is introduced from the inside/outside airswitching box, and flows into the air inlet space 12 of the airconditioning case 11 at the bottom side. Thereafter, air passes throughthe evaporator 14 from below upwardly as shown by arrow “a” so that coolair is obtained. Air from the evaporator 14 is divided into air passingthrough the cool air bypass passage 17 and air passing through theheater core 15 in accordance with the opening degree of the air mixingdoor 18. Warm air “c” passing through the heater core 15 is guided bythe warm air guide wall 20, and is introduced into the air mixingportion 19, and cool air “b” passing through the cool air bypass passage17 is guided by the cool air guide wall 21, and is introduced into theair mixing portion 19. Warm air “c” and cool air “c” are mixed in theair mixing portion 19 so that conditioned air having a predeterminedtemperature is obtained.

[0057] An air outlet mode such as the face mode, the foot mode and thedefroster mode can be set by the rotation operation of the rotary door27. The rotary door 27 is operated to open and close the foot opening24, the face opening 25 and the defroster opening 26, so thatconditioned air is blown into the passenger compartment through at leastone of the openings 24-26.

[0058] In the face mode shown in FIG. 1, the face opening 25 is openedby the communication hole 27 h of the rotary door 27, and the footopening 24 and the defroster opening 26 are closed by the film member 27g of the circumference wall surface 27 a of the rotary door 27.

[0059] In the foot mode shown in FIG. 2, the foot opening 24 is openedby the communication hole 27 h, and the face opening 25 and thedefroster opening 26 are closed by the film member 27 g of thecircumference wall surface of the rotary door 27.

[0060] In the defroster mode shown in FIG. 3, the rotary door rotatescounterclockwise in maximum. In this case, the circumference wallsurface 27 a of the rotary door 27 is rotated to a position withoutfacing the defroster opening 26, so that the defroster opening 26 isopened. Further, the foot opening 24 and the face opening 25 are closedby the film member 27 g of the circumference wall surface 27 a of therotary door 27.

[0061] When the rotary door 27 is rotated to a position between FIG. 1and FIG. 2, both the foot opening 24 and the face opening 25 are openedby the communication hole 27 h, so that a bi-level mode can be set.Further, when the rotary door 27 is rotated to a position between FIG. 2and FIG. 3, the foot opening 24 is opened by the communication hole 27h, and the defroster opening 26 is also opened, so that a foot/defrostermode can be set. In the foot/defroster mode, an opening ratio of thefoot opening 24 is approximately equal to that of the defroster opening26. Further, in the foot mode shown in FIG. 2, the defroster opening 26can be slightly opened. In this case, a small amount of warm air is alsoblown toward the inner surface of the windshield from the defrosteropening 26 while a large amount of warm air is blown toward the footarea in the passenger compartment in the foot mode, so defrostingperformance of the windshield can be improved in the foot mode.

[0062] For example, as shown in FIG. 16, when a rotary door 27′ isdisposed above the heater core 15 to open and close the foot opening 24,the face opening 25 and the defroster opening 26 as shown in FIG. 16 inan air conditioning unit 10′ of a comparison example, the heightdimension of the air conditioning unit 10′ becomes larger. In thecomparison example, the outer diameter D′ of the rotary door 27′ is madesmaller to be set in a range of 120-150 mm, so that the outer diameterD′ is smaller 0.8 times of the maximum passage dimension L′ (D′<L′×0.8)in the horizontal direction at the upstream side of the rotary door 27′.In this case, the operation angle θ′ of the rotary door 27′ is set toabout 100° for opening and closing the openings 24-26 by the rotation ofthe rotary door 27′. Further, a height dimension H of about 30 mm isnecessary between the rotary door 27′ and the heater core 15 in order tosufficiently mix warm air from the heater core 15 and cool air from thecool air bypass passage 17, in this arrangement of the comparisonexample. Accordingly, in the comparison example shown in FIG. 16, theheight dimension of the air conditioning unit 10′ is increased, and thesize of the air conditioning unit 10′ becomes larger.

[0063] According to the first embodiment of the present invention, theouter diameter of the rotary door 27 is set to be larger that themaximum passage dimension L in the horizontal direction at the upstreamside of the rotary door 27. For example, the outer diameter D of therotary door 27 is about 1.29 times of the maximum passage dimension L.Therefore, the operation angle θ of the rotary door 27 for opening andclosing the three openings 24-26 can be reduced to about 65°, and theheight dimension of the air conditioning unit 10 can be greatly reducedas compared with the comparison example in FIG. 16.

[0064] According to the first embodiment of the present invention, therotation shaft 28 is disposed around the top end portion of the heatercore 15, and the door rotation space 29 of the rotary door 27 isprovided from the upper side of the heater core to a rear side of theheater core 15, so that an end of the circumference surface 27 a of therotary door 27 in the circumference direction is rotated to the positionproximate to the lower end portion of the heater core 15. Accordingly, aheight dimension between the upper end portion of the heater core 15 andthe upper surface of the air conditioning case 11 can be reduced to beapproximately equal to the radius (e.g., 100 mm) of the rotary door 27,so that the size of the air conditioning unit 10 can be further reduced.

[0065] Further, according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention, the heater core 15 is disposed approximately vertically, andthe door rotation space 29 of the rotary door 27 is provided to extendfrom the upper side of the heater core 15 to the position around thelower end portion of the heater core 15 at the vehicle rear side of theheater core 15. Therefore, the face opening 25 can be positioned on theupper rear surface of the air conditioning case 11 at an upper side ofthe foot opening 24. Therefore, when the air conditioning unit 10 ismounted in the instrument panel, cool air can be readily blown from theface opening 25 provided on the vehicle rear side in the airconditioning case 11.

[0066] (Second Embodiment)

[0067] The second embodiment of the present invention will be nowdescribed with reference to FIGS. 4-6. In the above-described firstembodiment of the present invention, the heater core 15 is disposedapproximately vertically. However, in the second embodiment, as shown inFIGS. 4-6, the upper end portion of the heater core 15 is tilted towardthe vehicle front side from the vertical direction by a predeterminedangle. The heater core 15 is tilted between the vertical direction andthe horizontal direction.

[0068] The evaporator 14 is tilted so that the vehicle rear side end ofthe evaporator 14 is positioned at the upper side. On the other hand,the heater core 15 is tilted to a direction opposite to the tiltdirection of the evaporator 14 so that the vehicle rear side end of theheater core 15 is positioned lower and the vehicle front side of theheater core 15 is positioned higher.

[0069] Further, the warm air guide wall 20 and the cool air guide wall21 are also shifted to be rotated clockwise by the predetermined anglefrom the position of the first embodiment, in accordance with theposition shaft of the heater core 15. Therefore, in the secondembodiment, the rotation shaft 28 of the rotary door 27 is set at aposition lower than the top end of the warm air guide wall 20 and thetop end of the cool air guide wall 21. Accordingly, the door rotationspace 29 of the rotary door 27 is also shifted to be rotated clockwisefrom the position in the first embodiment. Thus, the face opening 25 ispositioned at an approximate intermediate position on the upper surfacein the air conditioning case 11 in the vehicle front-rear direction.

[0070] In the second embodiment, for example, the outer diameter D ofthe rotary door 27 is 200 mm, and the maximum passage dimension L isabout 180 mm. In this case, the outer diameter D of the rotary door 27is about 1.12 times of the maximum passage dimension L. Accordingly, theouter diameter D of the rotary door 27 can be set larger than themaximum passage diameter L. Because the outer diameter D of the rotarydoor 27 is made larger, the rear-side lower end of the door rotationspace 29 extends to the lower end portion of the warm air guide wall 20,and the front-side lower end of the door rotation space 29 extends to amiddle position of the cool air guide wall 20 in the vertical direction.

[0071]FIG. 4 shows the face mode in the air conditioning unit 10 of thesecond embodiment. Similarly to the above-described first embodiment, inthe face mode shown in FIG. 4, the face opening 25 is opened by thecommunication hole 27 h of the rotary door 27, and the foot opening 24and the defroster opening 26 are closed by the film member 27 g of thecircumference wall surface 27 a of the rotary door 27.

[0072]FIG. 5 shows the foot mode in the air conditioning unit 10 in thesecond mode, In the foot mode shown in FIG. 5, the foot opening 24 isopened by the communication hole 27 h, and the face opening 25 and thedefroster opening 26 are closed by the film member 27 g of thecircumference wall surface 27 a of the rotary door 27.

[0073]FIG. 6 shows the defroster mode in the air conditioning unit 10 ofthe second embodiment. In the defroster mode shown in FIG. 6, the rotarydoor 27 rotates counterclockwise in maximum. In this case, thecircumference wall surface 27 a of the rotary door 27 is rotated to aposition without facing the defroster opening 26, so that the defrosteropening 26 is opened. Further, the foot opening 24 and the face opening25 are closed by the film member 27 g of the circumference wall surface27 a of the rotary door 27.

[0074] When the rotary door 27 is rotated to a position between FIG. 4and FIG. 5, both the foot opening 24 and the face opening 25 are openedby the communication hole 27 h, so that a bi-level mode can be set.Further, when the rotary door 27 is rotated to a position between FIG. 5and FIG. 6, the foot opening 24 is opened by the communication hole 27h, and the defroster opening 26 is also opened, so that a foot/defrostermode can be set. In the foot/defroster mode, an opening ratio of thefoot opening 24 is approximately equal to that of the defroster opening26. Further, in the foot mode shown in FIG. 5, the defroster opening 26can be slightly opened. In this case, a small amount of warm air isblown toward the inner surface of the windshield from the defrosteropening 26 while a large amount of warm air is blown toward the footarea in the passenger compartment in the foot mode, so defrostingperformance of the windshield can be improved.

[0075] According to the second embodiment of the present invention, theouter diameter of the rotary door 27 is set to be larger that themaximum passage dimension L in the direction (i.e., horizontaldirection) perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotation shaft 28at the upstream side of the rotary door 27. For example, the outerdiameter D of the rotary door 27 is about 1.12 times of the maximumpassage dimension L. Therefore, the operation angle θ of the rotary door27 for opening and closing the three openings 24-26 can be reduced toabout 65°.

[0076] According to the second embodiment of the present invention, therotation shaft 28 is disposed around the top end portion of the heatercore 15, and the door rotation space 29 of the rotary door 27 isprovided from the upper side of the heater core 15 to the rear side ofthe heater core 15, so that an end of the circumference surface 27 a ofthe rotary door 27 in the circumference direction is rotated to theposition proximate to the lower end portion of the heater core 15.Accordingly, the height dimension between the upper end portion of theheater core 15 and the upper surface of the air conditioning case 11 canbe reduced to be approximately equal to the radius (e.g., 100 mm) of therotary door 27, so that the size of the air conditioning unit 10 can bereduced.

[0077] In the second embodiment, the other parts of the air conditioningunit 10 are similar to those of the above-described first embodiment,and detail explanation thereof is omitted.

[0078] (Third Embodiment)

[0079] The third embodiment of the present invention will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 7-9.

[0080] In the above-described first and second embodiments of thepresent invention, all of the foot opening 24, the face opening 25 andthe defroster opening 26 are opened and closed by the rotation movementof the circumference wall surface 27 a of the rotary door 27. However,in the third embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 7-9, first and second platedoor portions 27 i, 27 j rotated integrally with the circumference wallsurface 27 a are provided, and the foot opening 24, the face opening 25and the defroster opening 26 are opened and closed by the combination ofthe circumference wall surface 27 a and the first and second plate doorportions 27 i, 27 j.

[0081] A partition wall 30 is connected to the top end portion of thewarm air guide wall 20, and extends to a vehicle rear side portion ofthe air conditioning case 11, so that the foot air passage 24 a ispartitioned at the vehicle rear side of the warm air guide wall 20. Thepartition wall 30 protrudes upwardly in a mountain shape. Because thepartition wall 30 protrudes upwardly in the mountain shape, the doorrotation space 29 extends to a vehicle rear side position of thepartition wall 30 around the bottom area of the partition wall 30.Therefore, the foot air passage 24 a is positioned inside the doorrotation space 29.

[0082] The foot opening 24 is opened in the partition wall 30, and thefirst plate portion 27 i is disposed at a lower side of the foot opening24. The first plate door portion 27 i and the second plate door portion27 j are connected through two connection arm portions 27 k positionedat two end sides in the axial direction of the rotation shaft 28 of therotary door 27. The first plate door portion 27 i and the connection armportions 27 k can be molded integrally with the rotary door 27, or canbe formed separately from the rotary door 27. The first plate doorportion 27 i extends in the axial direction of the rotation shaft 28 ofthe rotary door 27, and is formed into a plate shape having an arealarger than the opening area of the foot opening 24 to close the footopening 24. In the third embodiment, the first plate door portion 27 iis connected to the two connection arm portion 27 k at two end sides ofthe first plate door 27 i in the axial direction of the rotation shaft28 of the rotary door 27. The two connection arm portions 27 k penetratethrough the foot opening 24, and extend in a circular arc shape.

[0083] On the other hand, the second plate door portion 27 j is formedintegrally with the rotary door 27 between the right and left sideplates 27 b positioned at the two ends of the rotary door 27 in theaxial direction of the rotation shaft 28. The second plate door portion27 j is formed to have a plate shape similar to the first plate doorportion 27 i. The two plate door portions 27 i, 27 j are disposed onradial inner side of the circumference wall surface 27 a at the sameradial position from the rotation shaft 28. When the first plate doorportion 27 i and the two connection arm portions 27 k are formedseparately from the rotary door 27, top end portions of the twoconnection arm portion 27 k are fitted to the second plate door portion27 j to be fixed to the second plate door portion 27 j by fasteningmeans such as bonding and screwing.

[0084] An elastic seal member 27 m is provided on an upper surface ofthe first plate door portion 27 i to be bonded to the upper surface ofthe first plate door portion 27 i, and an elastic seal member 27 n isprovided on a lower surface of the second plate door portion 27 j to bebonded to the lower surface of the second plate door portion 27 j.However, the elastic members 27 m, 27 n can be molded integrally withthe first and second plate door portions 27 i, 27 j, respectively, byusing a rubber material.

[0085] In the third embodiment, a circumference length of thecircumference wall surface 27 a of the rotary door 27 can be madeshorter as compared with the above-described first and secondembodiments, and the communication hole 27 h of the circumference wallsurface 27 a described in the first and second embodiments is omitted.

[0086]FIG. 7 shows the face mode in the third embodiment. In the facemode, the defroster opening 26 is closed by the film member 27 g of thecircumference wall surface 27 a, and the foot opening 24 is closed bythe elastic seal member 27 m of the first plate door portion 27 i.Further, the circumference wall surface of the rotary door 27 is rotatedto a position without facing the face opening 25, so that the faceopening 25 is opened.

[0087]FIG. 8 shows a foot mode in the third embodiment. When the footmode is set, the rotary door 27 is rotated counterclockwise from theposition of FIG. 7 by a predetermined angle. Therefore, in the footmode, the face opening 25 and the defroster opening 26 are closed by thefilm member 27 g of the circumference wall surface 27 a, and the firstplate door portion 27 i is moved to be separated from the foot opening24 to open the foot opening 24.

[0088]FIG. 9 shows the defroster mode in the third embodiment. When thedefroster mode is set, the rotary door 27 is further rotatedcounterclockwise from the position in FIG. 8 by a predetermined angle.That is, in the defroster mode, the rotary door 27 is rotated in maximumin the counterclockwise direction. In this case, because thecircumference wall surface 27 a of the rotary door 27 does not face thedefroster opening 26, the defroster opening 26 is opened. Further, theface opening 25 is closed by the film member 27 g of the circumferencewall surface 27 a of the rotary door 27, and the foot opening 24 isclosed by the elastic member 27 n of the second plate door portion 27 j.

[0089] According to the third embodiment of the present invention, thecircumference wall surface 27 a of the rotary door 27 only opens andcloses the face opening 25 and the defroster opening 26. Therefore, thecircumference length of the circumference wall surface 27 a of therotary door 27 can be made smaller as compared with the above describedfirst and second embodiments.

[0090] Further, the plate door portions 27 i, 27 j for opening andclosing the foot opening 24 are disposed at the radial inner side of thecircumference wall surface 27 a of the rotary door 27, the foot opening24 can be arranged an inside area of the door rotation space 29.Accordingly, the foot air passage 24 a can be provided in the insidearea of the door rotation space 29. As a result, the dimension of theair conditioning unit 10 in the vehicle front-rear direction can bereduced, and the air conditioning unit 10 can be readily amounted on thevehicle.

[0091] In the third embodiment, the other parts are similar to those ofthe above-described first embodiment, and detail explanation thereof isomitted.

[0092] (Fourth Embodiment)

[0093] The fourth embodiment of the present invention will be describedwith reference to FIG. 10. In the fourth embodiment, the structure ofthe rotary door 27 and the structure of the foot opening 24 are similarto those of the above-described third embodiment. However, in the fourthembodiment, similarly to the above-described second embodiment of thepresent invention, the upper end portion of the heater core 15 is tiltedto the vehicle front side. That is, in the fourth embodiment, the mainfeature of the second embodiment and the main feature of the thirdembodiment are combined. Even in this case, the advantage described inthe above embodiments can be obtained.

[0094] (Fifth Embodiment)

[0095] The fifth embodiment of the present invention will be nowdescribed with reference to FIGS. 11-13. In the fifth embodiment, theface opening 25 and the defroster opening 26 are opened and closed bythe circumference wall surface 27 a of the rotary door 27, and the footopening 24 is opened and closed by the side plate portions 27 b.

[0096] In the fifth embodiment, the arrangement position of the footopening 24 is changed as compared with the above-described embodiments.In the fifth embodiment, right and left foot openings 24 are provided atright and left side wall surfaces in the air conditioning case 11 of theair conditioning unit 10, on an upper side position. Therefore, the twofoot openings 24 are provided to be positioned in the air conditioningcase 11 at the right and left sides of the rotary door 27. In the fifthembodiment, each of the foot openings 24 is formed into an approximatetrapezoid shape. However, the shape of the foot openings 24 can bechanged to the other shape.

[0097] Foot communication holes 27 p are provided in the right and leftside plate portions 27 b of the rotary door 27 to have a shapecorresponding to the shape of the foot openings 24, at a radial positioncorresponding to the foot openings 24. Therefore, when the rotary door27 rotates to a position at which the foot communication holes 27 pcommunicates with the foot openings 24, the foot openings 24 are opened.When the foot openings 24 are opened by the foot communication holes 27p of the rotary door 27, conditioned air (warm air) is blown toward thefoot areas of the passenger compartment at right and left seat sidesthrough the foot openings 24.

[0098] Even in the fifth embodiment of the present invention, the outerdiameter D of the rotary door 27 is made larger than the maximum passagedimension L at the upstream side of the rotary door 27. In the fifthembodiment, for example, the outer diameter D of the rotary door 27 isabout 1.12 times of the maximum passage dimension L. Thus, the operationangle θ of the rotary door 27, necessary for opening and closing theopenings 24-26, can be reduced to about 65°.

[0099] In the fifth embodiment, the foot openings 24 are opened andclosed by the side plates 27 b of the rotary door 27, and thecircumference wall surface 27 a only opens and closes the face opening25 and the defroster opening 26. Specifically, the face opening 25 orthe defroster opening 26 is opened when the circumference wall surface27 a of the rotary door 27 does not face the face opening 25 or thedefroster opening 26. Accordingly, the circumference length of thecircumference wall surface 27 a of the rotary door 27 can be madesmaller.

[0100] When the face mode is set as shown in FIG. 11, the defrosteropening 26 is closed by the circumference wall surface 27 a of therotary door 27, and the foot openings 24 are closed by the side plateportions 27 b of the rotary door 27. In this case, the circumferencewall surface 27 a of the rotary door 27 does not face the face opening25, so that the face opening 25 is opened. In the fifth embodiment, anelastic seal member is attached to the side plate portions 27 b on thesurfaces facing the right and left side wall surfaces of the airconditioning case 11 by bonding. Therefore, the elastic seal memberattached to each of the side plate portions 27 b contacts each side wallsurface of the air conditioning case 11 around the foot opening 24, sothat it can prevent air from leaking from the foot opening 24 when thefoot opening 24 is closed by the side plate portion 27 b.

[0101] When the defroster mode is set as shown in FIG. 13, the faceopening 25 is closed by the circumference wall surface 27 a of therotary door 27, and the foot openings 24 are closed by the side plateportions 27 b. In this case, the circumference wall surface 27 a of therotary door 27 does not face the defroster opening 26, so that thedefroster opening 26 is opened.

[0102] Further, when the foot mode is set as shown in FIG. 12, the faceopening 25 and the defroster opening 26 are closed by the circumferencewall surface 27 a of the rotary door 27, and the foot openings 24 areopened by the foot communication holes 27 p of the side plate portions27 b of the rotary door 27.

[0103] Even in the fifth embodiment, when the rotary door 27 is rotatedat a middle position between the position shown in FIG. 11 and theposition shown in FIG. 12, the bi-level mode is set. When the rotarydoor 27 is rotated at a middle position between the position shown inFIG. 12 and the position shown in FIG. 13, the foot/defroster mode isset.

[0104] According to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, thefoot openings 25 are provided at the right and left side wall surfacesof the air conditioning case 11 in the vehicle width direction, and areopened and closed by the rotation of the side plate portions 27 b of therotary door 27. Therefore, it is unnecessary to form the foot airpassage 24 a protruding to the vehicle rear side, described in theabove-described first embodiment. Accordingly, the dimension of the airconditioning unit 10 in the vehicle front-rear direction can be reduced.

[0105] (Sixth Embodiment)

[0106] The sixth embodiment of the present invention will be nowdescribed with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. In a vehicle having anavigation device, the navigation device is generally mounted in anarrangement position of the face duct connected to the face opening 25of the air conditioning unit 10, and interference between the face ductand the navigation device may be caused. Accordingly, in the vehiclehaving the navigation device, for preventing the interference betweenthe face duct and the navigation device, the arrangement position of theface opening 25 of the air conditioning unit 10 is required to beshifted to a vehicle rear side from an approximate center position inthe vehicle front-rear direction, as compared with a vehicle without anavigation device. On the other hand, in the maker of the airconditioner, when the air conditioning unit 10 is designed to bedifferent in accordance with the mounting state of the navigationdevice, the production cost of the air conditioning unit 10 isincreased.

[0107] In view of the above-described problems, in the sixth embodiment,the arrangement position of the openings 24-26 of the air conditioningunit 10 are set to be changed, so the product cost of the airconditioning unit 10 can be restricted. FIG. 15 shows the airconditioning unit 10 of the sixth embodiment for a vehicle having anavigation device 30. FIG. 14 shows the air conditioning unit 10 of thesixth embodiment for a vehicle without the navigation device 10. In thesixth embodiment of the present invention, the heater core 15 isdisposed at a lower side position of the rotation shaft 28 within therange of the outer diameter D of the rotary door 27 at a positionoutside the rotation locus of the rotary door 27.

[0108] The solid line position of the rotary door 27 in FIGS. 14 and 15is the rotation position in the face mode, where the rotary door 27rotates most clockwise. On the other hand, the chain line position ofthe rotary door 27 in FIGS. 14 and 15 is the rotation position in thedefroster mode, where the rotary door 27 rotates most counterclockwise.Thus, the rotary door 27 rotates between the solid line position and thechain line position in FIGS. 14, 15. A face duct 25 a is connected tothe face opening 25, and a defroster duct 26 a is connected to thedefroster opening 26.

[0109] In the sixth embodiment, because the heater core 15 is disposedat the position outside the rotation locus of the rotary door 27, therotation operation range of the rotary door 27 can be changed even whenthe arrangement position of the heater core 15 can be maintained at thesame state. Specifically, in FIG. 15, the rotation operation range ofthe rotary door 27 in the air conditioning case 11 is rotatedcounterclockwise by 45° relative to the position in FIG. 14. Therefore,the opening positions of the foot opening 24, the face opening 25 andthe defroster opening 26 of the mode switching portion 22 in FIG. 15 arealso rotated counterclockwise relative to the opening positions in FIG.14.

[0110] Accordingly, in FIG. 15, the positions of the face opening 25 andthe face duct 25 a are shifted to the vehicle rear side from anapproximate center position in the vehicle front-rear direction in FIG.14. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15, the interference between thenavigation device and the face duct 25 a can be prevented.

[0111] In the sixth embodiment of the present invention, the arrangementpositions of the openings 24-26 of the mode switching portion 22 arechanged while the other arrangement layouts of main components such asthe evaporator 14, the heater core 15, the air mixing door 18 and therotary door 27 are not changed. Therefore, the arrangement of the modeswitching portion 22 can be changed while the other arrangements of themain components are used in common, thereby reducing production cost.

[0112] The heater core 15 is arranged so that the inlet and outlet tankportions 15 a, 15 b of the heater core 15 do not protrude outside therange of the outer diameter D of the rotary door 27, for preventing theinterference between the rotary door 27 and the heater core 15. In thesixth embodiment, the cool air guide wall 21 described in the aboveembodiments is omitted and the cool air bypass passage 17 is provided bythe air conditioning case 11.

[0113] Even in the sixth embodiment of the present invention, the outerdiameter D of the rotary door 27 is set larger than the maximum passagedimension L at the upstream side of the rotary door 27 so that the sizeof the air conditioning unit 10 can be reduced. For example, in thesixth embodiment, the outer diameter D is approximately 1.3 times of themaximum passage dimension L (D≈L×1.3).

[0114] Although the present invention has been fully described inconnection with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to theaccompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes andmodifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0115] For example, in the above-described embodiments, the presentinvention is typically applied to the vehicle air conditioner where thetemperature of air blown into the passenger compartment is adjusted byadjusting the flow ratio between the air amount passing through the coreportion 15 c of the heater core 15 and the air amount passing throughthe cool air bypass passage 17. However, the present invention can beapplied to a vehicle air conditioner where the temperature of air blowninto the passenger compartment can be adjusted by adjusting a flowamount or a temperature of hot water flowing through the heater core 15.

[0116] In the above-described embodiments of the present invention, theouter diameter D of the rotary door 27 is made larger than the maximumpassage dimension L in the horizontal direction at the upstream side ofthe rotary door 27. According to experiments by the inventors of thepresent invention, even when the outer diameter D of the rotary door 27is smaller than the maximum passage dimension L, when the outer diameterD of the rotary door 27 is equal to or larger than L×0.8, the heightdimension of the air conditioning unit 10 can be effectively reduced.

[0117] In the above-described first through fifth embodiments of thepresent invention, the cool air guide wall 21 can be omitted by thearrangement change of the heater core 15 or the shape change of the airconditioning case 11. In this case, the cool air bypass passage 17 canbe provided by the air conditioning case 11. Similarly, the warm airguide wall 20 can be omitted. Further, when the temperature of air blowninto the passenger compartment is adjusted by adjusting the flow amountor the temperature of hot water flowing into the heater core 15, boththe guide walls 20, 21 can be omitted.

[0118] Such changes and modifications are to be understood as beingwithin the scope of the present invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An air conditioner for a vehicle having apassenger compartment, the air conditioner comprising: an airconditioning case defining an air passage through which air flows intothe passenger compartment, the air conditioning case having a pluralityof opening portions through which air is blown toward different zones inthe passenger compartment; a heat exchanging portion having at least aheating heat exchanger for heating air, the heat exchanging portionbeing disposed in the air conditioning case; and a rotary door disposedin the air conditioning case at an upper side of the heat exchangingportion to be rotated in a range of a rotation space provided in the airconditioning case, the rotary door having a circumference wall surfacerotatable around a rotation shaft to open and close the openingportions, wherein the rotation space is provided in the air conditioningcase to extend from an upper portion of the heating heat exchanger to aside portion of the heating heat exchanger.
 2. The air conditioneraccording to claim 1, wherein the heating heat exchanger is arranged inthe air conditioning case in a direction crossing with a horizontalsurface.
 3. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein therotation space of the rotary door is provided to extend to a positionproximate to a lower end portion of the heating heat exchanger.
 4. Theair conditioner according to claim 1, wherein: the opening portions areprovided adjacent to each other in a vehicle front-rear direction in anupper surface of the air conditioning case; the rotary door is disposedto be rotated in the vehicle front-rear direction; and the rotationspace is provided from the upper portion of the heating heat exchangerto a vehicle rear side portion of the heating heat exchanger.
 5. The airconditioner according to claim 1, wherein the heating heat exchanger isdisposed approximately vertically.
 6. The air conditioner according toclaim 1, wherein the heating heat exchanger is tilted in a directionbetween a vertical direction and a horizontal direction.
 7. The airconditioner according to claim 1, wherein: the opening portions includea foot opening through which air is blown toward a lower side in thepassenger compartment, a face opening through which air is blown towardan upper side in the passenger compartment, and a defroster openingthrough which air is blown toward an inner surface of a windshield ofthe vehicle; the rotary door further includes a plate door memberdisposed at a radial inner side of the circumference wall surface to beintegrally rotated with the circumference wall surface; and the rotarydoor is disposed, such that the face opening and the defroster openingare opened and closed by the circumference wall surface, and the footopening is opened and closed by the plate door member.
 8. The airconditioner according to claim 7, wherein the plate door member isprovided at a side of the circumference wall surface in a rotationdirection of the rotary door.
 9. The air conditioner according to claim7, wherein: the rotary door further includes two side plates connectedto the circumference wall surface and the rotation shaft at two endsides in an axial direction of the rotation shaft; one end of the platedoor member in a rotation direction of the rotary door has a first platedoor connected to one of the side plates to be integrally rotated withthe circumference wall surface and to open and close the foot opening;the other end of the plate door member in the rotation direction of therotary door has a second plate door for opening and closing the footopening; and the first plate door and the second plate door areconnected through a connection portion that penetrates through the footopening.
 10. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein: the airconditioning case has a maximum passage dimension (L) at an upstreamside of the rotary door in a direction perpendicular to an axialdirection of the rotation shaft; and the rotary door has an outerdiameter (D) equal to or larger than 0.8 times of the maximum passagedimension.
 11. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein: theair conditioning case has a maximum passage dimension (L) at an upstreamside of the rotary door in a direction perpendicular to an axialdirection of the rotary shaft; and the rotary door has an outer diameter(D) larger than the maximum passage dimension.
 12. The air conditioneraccording to claim 1, wherein: the heating heat exchanger is disposed inthe air conditioning case to form a cool air bypass passage throughwhich air bypasses the heating heat exchanger; the air conditioning caseincludes a cool air guide member which guides air passing through thecool air bypass passage to an upper side of the heating heat exchanger;and the rotation shaft is disposed at a lower side of a top end of thecool air guide member.
 13. The air conditioner according to claim 12,wherein: the air conditioning case further includes a warm air guidemember which guides air passing through the heating heat exchanger to anupper side of the heating heat exchanger; and the rotation shaft isdisposed at a lower side of a top end of the warm air guide member. 14.The air conditioner according to claim 13, wherein: the rotation spaceextends to a lower side than the top ends of the cool air guide memberand the warm air guide member.
 15. The air conditioner according toclaim 1, wherein: the opening portions include a foot opening throughwhich air is blown toward a lower side in the passenger compartment, aface opening through which air is blown toward an upper side in thepassenger compartment, and a defroster opening through which air isblown toward an inner surface of a windshield of the vehicle; the rotarydoor further includes two side plates connected to the circumferencewall surface and the rotation shaft at two end sides of the rotationshaft; and the rotary door is disposed, such that the face opening andthe defroster opening are opened and closed by the circumference wallsurface, and the foot opening is opened and closed by the side plates.16. An air conditioner for a vehicle having a passenger compartment, theair conditioner comprising: an air conditioning case defining an airpassage through which air flows into the passenger compartment, the airconditioning case having a plurality of opening portions through whichair is blown toward different zones in the passenger compartment; a heatexchanging portion for performing a heat exchange with air, the heatexchanging portion being disposed in the air conditioning case; and arotary door disposed in the air conditioning case at a downstream sideof the heat exchanging portion, the rotary door having a circumferencewall surface rotatable around a rotation shaft to open and close theopening portions, wherein: the air conditioning case has a maximumpassage dimension (L) at an upstream side of the rotary door in adirection perpendicular to an axial direction of the rotary shaft; andthe rotary door has an outer diameter (D) equal to or larger than 0.8times of the maximum passage dimension.
 17. The air conditioneraccording to claim 16, wherein the outer diameter (D) of the rotary doorlarger than the maximum passage dimension.
 18. The air conditioneraccording to claim 16, wherein: the rotary door is disposed at an upperside of the heat exchanging portion; the heat exchanging portionincludes at least a heating heat exchanger for heating air; and theheating heat exchanger is disposed in the air conditioning case in arange of the outer diameter of the rotary door at a lower side positionof the rotation shaft, offset from a rotation locus of the rotary door.19. The air conditioner according to claim 16, wherein: the rotary dooris disposed at an upper side of the heat exchanging portion; and therotation shaft is disposed adjacent to an upper end portion of the heatexchanging portion.
 20. The air conditioner according to claim 16,wherein: the heat exchanging portion includes a heating heat exchangerfor heating air; the heating heat exchanger is disposed in the airconditioning case to form a cool air bypass passage through which airbypasses the heating heat exchanger; the air conditioning case includesa guide member which guides at least one of air passing through the coolair bypass passage to an upper side of the heating heat exchanger, andair passing through the heating heat exchanger to the upper side of theheating heat exchanger; and the rotation shaft is disposed at a lowerside of a top end of the guide member.
 21. An air conditioner for avehicle having a passenger compartment, the air conditioner comprising:an air conditioning case defining an air passage through which air flowsinto the passenger compartment, the air conditioning case having aplurality of opening portions through which air is blown towarddifferent zones in the passenger compartment; a heat exchanging portionfor performing a heat exchange with air, the heat exchanging portionbeing disposed in the air conditioning case; and a rotary door disposedin the air conditioning case at a downstream side of the heat exchangingportion on an upper side of the heat exchanging portion, the rotary doorhaving a circumference wall surface rotatable around a rotation shaft toopen and close the opening portions, wherein: the heat exchangingportion has a heating heat exchanger for heating air; the heating heatexchanger is disposed in the air conditioning case to form a cool airbypass passage through which air bypasses the heating heat exchanger;the air conditioning case includes a guide member which is disposed atan upper side of the heating heat exchange to guide at least one of airpassing through the cool air bypass passage to an upper side of theheating heat exchanger, and air passing through the heating heatexchanger to the upper side of the heating heat exchanger; and therotation shaft is disposed at a lower side of a top end of the guidemember.
 22. The air conditioner according to claim 21, wherein: theopening portions are provided in an upper surface of the airconditioning case; the air conditioning case has therein a rotationspace in which the circumference wall surface is rotatable by apredetermined rotation angle; and the rotation space extends to a lowerside than the top end of the guide member.
 23. The air conditioneraccording to claim 21, wherein: the opening portions include a footopening through which air is blown toward a lower side in the passengercompartment, a face opening through which air is blown toward an upperside in the passenger compartment, and a defroster opening through whichair is blown toward an inner surface of a windshield of the vehicle; therotary door further includes two side plates connected to thecircumference wall surface and the rotation shaft at two end sides ofthe rotation shaft; and the rotary door is disposed, such that the faceopening and the defroster opening are opened and closed by thecircumference wall surface, and the foot opening is opened and closed bythe side plates.